Buttonhole attachments



Aug. 27, 1957 c. G. BAEHR ETAL BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1956 mm. 5 W g 5.0%@ 747.3@ f" 7 b/w A'ITORNY Aug. 27, 1957 C. G. BAEHR ET AL BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENTS Filed Jan. 25. 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR d SM/ 5,. w

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ATTORNEYS Aug. 27, 1957 c. G. BAEHR Erm.

BuTToNHoLE ATTACHMENTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan.. 25, 1956 SM lIhn/Ebrroks, M YQ W BY g QW q y ATTORNEYS mlb a Q C3 2,804,035 Patented Aug. 27, 1957 BUTToNHoLn ATTACHMENTS Carl G. Baehr, West Haven, and Harry N. Johnson, New Haven, Conn., assignors to The Greist Manufacturing Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application January 25, 1956, Serial No. 561,313

10 Claims. (Cl. 112-77) This invention relates to sewing machine attachments, and more particularly to a buttonhole attachment for use with household sewing machines.

The `attachment illustrated in the present application is similar in many respects to that shown in the Almquist Patent No. 2,482,607, dated September 20, 1949. In the construction shown in this patent a feed blade carrying a cloth-engaging presser foot is mounted upon a frame for longitudinal, sliding movements and also for lateral oscillating movement. This feed blade carries a template having an internally toothed rack member of oblong or buttonhole shape. Cooperating with the teeth of the rack member is a pinion rotatably carried by a lever pivotally mounted on the frame, which lever is in turn oscillated by the reciprocation or oscillation of a pivotally mounted fork arm adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine with which the attachment is used.

The reciprocation of this lever by the fork arm effects oscillation of the feed blade carrying the presser foot and cloth by reason of the engagement of the pinion with the internal rack teeth of the template, and provision is made for rotating the pinion in a step-by-step manner which in turn, due again to its engagement with the internal rack teeth of the template, effects longitudinal sliding back-andforth movements of the feed blade.

The present device operates generally in the manner described above but differs from previous constructions in several respects, one being that the template provided with the internal rack teeth is mounted above the oscillating lever instead of below it, as in previous devices. For this reason the template is readily accessible for removal and replacement by one of a different form to make a different type or size of buttonhole.

Moreover, in the present construction the frame is of a construction different from that in prior devices as is also the adjustment of the pivot point of the feed blade. Also a novel arrangement is provided for effecting rotation of the pinion to effect the longitudinal back-and-forth sliding movements of the feed blade.

One object of the present invention is to provide a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines of novel construction and improved convenience.

Another object of the invention is to provide a buttonhole attachment wherein a template is provided having internal rack teeth to determine the size and shape of thc buttonhole, so constructed that the template is mounted `above the frame of the machine and in `an inverted position with respect to prior art constructions so that it is readily accessible for removal and replacement.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a novel and improved frame construction for a buttonhole attachment and novel means for adjusting the pivot connecting the feed blade to the frame so as to adjust the lateral throw of the material or the width of the line of stitches made by the attachment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide new and improved means for effecting longitudinal, sliding movement of the feed blade in a step-by-step manner and of adjusting the length of each step in this movement.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a buttonhole attachment embodying our improvements;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the attachment;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view on line S--S of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the template having internal rack teeth;

Fig. 7 is a central vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a modification of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view on line 8 8 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a detail View of a lever element employed in the modification of Figs. 7 and 8.

To illustrate one embodiment of the invention, there is shown in the drawings a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a U-shaped frame member of channel-shaped form, this member having a base 10 and upstanding flanges or sides 11 and 12 at the longitudinal edges of the base. Within this frame part is a second frame member of somewhat similar shape in that it is provided with a base portion 13 and opstanding side edges or flanges 14 and 15 which abut the anges 1l and l2 respectively. The base portion 13 of this inner frame portion is, as shown in Fig. 4, spaced upwardly from the base 1l) of the outer frame portion and is provided with a relatively large `opening 16 (Figs. 2 and 5) of substantially rectangular shape.

Forwardly of the opening 16 the base member 13 provides a platform 17 upon which is secured by riveting, as at 18, a U-shaped supporting member consisting of a base 19 and upstanding sides 20 and 21. A shaft 22 is rotatably mounted in the members 2t) and 21, and upon this shaft is secured a cam wheel 23 having an internal sinuous cam track 24. Also secured between the walls 20 and 21 is the adapter 25 by which the attachment may be attached to the presser bar of the sewing machine with which it is to be used.

Pivotally mounted at 27 upon the base 13 is a lever 28 which is provided at its forward end with a cam follower 29 disposed within the cam track 24 so that, when the cam 23 is rotated, the lever 28 will be oscillated in a horizontal plane about its pivot 27.

A shaft 30 is rotatably mounted in the lever 28 adjacent the rear end thereof, and a pinion 31 is secured to the upper end of this shaft. Also secured to this shaft is a ratchet wheel 32, and the shaft is frictionally held against rotation by a spring 33 held in place by a screw 34. A bracket 3S secured to the lever 28 also provides a bearing for this shaft.

Secured to the member 13 is a bracket 37 to which a pawl 38 is pivoted at 39. This pawl is in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 32, and from inspection of Fig. 5 it will be seen that, when the lever 28 is rotated about its pivot 27 in a counterclockwise direction, the pawl 38 will engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel 32 and effect rotation of the latter. The pawl 38 is urged into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel by a spring 40.

It is sometimes desirable to be able to rotate the shaft 30 manually, and this is effected in the present instance by means of a lever 41 pivoted on the shaft 30 and extending outwardly therefrom, this lever having pivoted thereon at 42 a pawl 43 held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 32 by the spring 44. The

lever 41 is provided with a knob 46 by which it may be manually operated in order that it can be rotated to rotate the shaft in a step-by-step movement.

The lever 28 is of T-shaped form, having a laterally extending rear end 47, and guide wings 48 and 49 eX- tend forwardly from this member to be received below lugs 50 and 51 upon the plate 13 so that the lever will be guided in its lateral movement.

A feed blade 53 is mounted between the members 10 and 13 (Fig. 4), this feed blade carrying a cloth-engaging foot 5S at its forward end, and is provided with a longi tudinally extending slot 56 within which is slidably mounted a pivot pin 57, this pin also extending through slots 58 in the members 17 and 19. end 61 which straddles the pin 57, this slide being guided in movements longitudinally of the feed blade by a pin 62 which is secured to the slide and which is movably mounted in a slot 63 in the portion 17 of the base member 13. The slide is provided with an upturned edge portion 64 to which an adjusting button 65 is threadedly connected so that, by grasping the button 65, the slide may be moved to and fro, and thus adjust the position of the pivot pin 57. As the pivot pin 57 determines the pivotal point about which the feed blade oscillates in its lateral movements, it will be seen that adjusting the position of this pin serves to adjust the throw of the forward end of the feed blade. This button slides in slots 65a in the members 11 and 14.

Adjacent its rear end the feed blade 53 is provided with a widened portion 66 (Fig. 5), and mounted on vertical posts 67 supported by the portion 66 of the feed blade is a platform 68 (Fig. 4). It may be noted that the posts 67 (three in number as shown) extend upwardly through the opening 16 in the base member 13.

The platform 68 is provided with an opening 69 within which may be mounted a template 70 (Figs. 4 and 6) provided with an internal rack 71 of oblong shape, the teeth of which are engaged by the pinion 31 which, as previously explained, is rigidly secured on the shaft 30. It will be understood that a number of templates may be employed with the attachment, these members being interchangeably mounted in the opening 69, and these templates determine the size and shape of the buttonhole by providing racks 71 of different length and shape. Pivoted upon one of the posts 67 is a lever 72 which extends over the template 70 and holds it in place, the free end of this lever being received below a catch 73 (Figs. l and 2) struck upwardly from the platform 68 so as to releasably hold the lever 72 in place. be understood that the lever may be swung to an out-ofthe-way position to permit the template 70 to be removed when it is desired to replace it with one of a different form. It will be noted that mounting the template above the lever 28 upon the platform 68 and in an inverted position so that the teeth of the rack 71 will engage the pinion 31 makes the template readily accessible for removal without detaching the attachment from the presser bar of the sewing machine or without disassembling any of the parts of the attachment, it only being necessary to swing the lever 72 to an out-of-the-way position. A fork arm 74 (Fig. l) is oscillatably mounted upon the shaft 22, and secured to this shaft is a ratchet wheel 75, the teeth of which are adapted to be engaged by a pawl 76 pivoted to the fork arm and urged into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel by the spring 77.

lt is believed that the operation of the device may readily be understood from the foregoing, but it may now be briefly described. As usual the fork arm 74 is adapted to be connected to the needle bar of the sewing machine and to be oscillated thereby. Oscillation of the fork arm rotates the internal cam member 23 in a stepby-step movement, and thus serves to oscillate the lever 28 about its pivot point 27. The oscillation of this lever in turn, due to the engagement of the pinion 31 with the rack teeth 71 in the template 70 (the latter being rigidly It will 4 carried by the feed blade 53) serves to oscillate the feed blade about its pivot 57 and, therefore, oscillates the forward end of the blade and the cloth-engaging foot 55.

At the same time when the rear end of the lever 28 is moved laterally, the pawl 38 engages the ratchet wheel 32 and serves to rotate the pinion 31. As the teeth of the pinion are in engagement with those of the rack, this moves the rack longitudinally of the attachment in a closed oblong path and effects backward and forward sliding movements of the feed blade around the buttonhole.

In Figs. 7 to 9 of the drawings, we have shown a somewhat modified form of our invention, the modification residing in the method of mounting the rotatable pinion upon the rear end of the lever which corresponds to the lever 28 previously described and the means for effecting rotation of this pinion upon oscillation of this lever.

As shown in Fig. 7, this lever is shown at 28a and is pivoted to the stationary frame member 80 at 27a. The feed blade is shown at 81, and it is understood that the feed blade is pivoted to the frame in the manner described in connection with the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 6.

Secured to the lever 28a adjacent the rear end thereof is a bearing member 82 upon which is rotatably mounted a hub member 83 having the pinion 31a rigidly secured thereto. As shown at 84, the shaft of the pinion is threaded into the hub member 83. The teeth of the pinion 31a mesh with the teeth of the rack 85 of the template 86 which is secured to a platform 87 carried by the feed blade 81 so that the template 86 will oscillate with the feed blade.

A lever 88 is mounted upon the rear end of the lever 28a to oscillate about the bearing 82, this lever, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, being provided with an opstanding flange 89 at one end and between this flange and the periphery of the hub 83 is a roller 90 urged into snug engagement between the periphery of the hub and the flange 89 by a spring 91 secured to the flange, the diameter of the roller being such that it cannot pass through the narrowest space between the periphery of the hub and the flange.

The other end of the lever 88 is provided with a slot 92 within which is mounted a pin 93 carried by an adjustable slide 94 mounted on the base member 80 and moved to various adjusted positions by a button 95 threadedly secured to an arm 96 which is in turn secured to the slide 94. This button slides in a slot 95a in a side flange 95b of the frame or base member 80 and can be loosened for adjustment or tightened to be held in adjusted position. The base 80 may be provided with a slot 97 within which slides a guide pin 98 secured to the slide 94 to guide the latter in its movements. The lever 28l is provided with an opening 99 which registers with, but is wider than, the slot 92 so as to permit adjustment of the pin 93. With this construction it will be apparent that as the rear end of the lever 28a is oscillated, carrying with it the bearing member 82, the lever 88 will also be oscillated due to the fact that the forward end of this lever will be held against movement by means of the pin 93 on the slide 94. Thus when the lever 28a is moved in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 8, the roller 90 will be clamped between the flange 89 and the periphery of the hub 84 and will rotate this hub through a small are, thus effecting rotation of the pinion 31EL in a step-by-step movement.

This will bring about the longitudinal back-andforth movements of the feed blade due to the fact that the teeth of the pinion engage those of the rack 85 which is carried by the feed blade.

It is sometimes desirable to be able to rotate the pinion 311i by hand and move the feed blade longitudinally of the frame. This may be effected by means of a lever 100 having a portion 101 (Fig. 7) journaled about the bearing 82 for rocking movement. Upon this lever is a flange 102, and between this flange and the periphery of the hub 83 is a roller 103 resiliently urged in a direction toward the narrowest part of the space between the hub and the flange by a spring 104.

With this construction, it will be seen that when the lever 100 is rotated in a clockwise direction, the roller 103 will bind between the ange 102 and the hub 83 and serve to rotate the latter, thus rotating the pinion $1a and moving the feed blade. When the lever 100 is moved in the opposite direction, however, the roller will not be cramped or hound between the flange and the hub and will, therefore, not elfect movement of the latter.

While we have shown and described some embodiments of our invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capacle of modication and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What we claim is:

l. A buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a feed blade connected to the frame for back-and-forth sliding movements longitudinally thereof, means for effecting such movements comprising a toothed rack member carried by the feed blade in a position spaced above the same, a lever pivoted on the frame, a pinion rotatably mounted on the lever and engaged with the teeth of the rack member, and means for oscillating said lever and rotating said pinion.

2. A buttonhole attachment as in claim 1 wherein a platform is provided in spaced relation to, and above, the feed blade, and said platform has an opening in which the rack member is removably mounted.

3. A buttonhole attachment as in claim 1 wherein a platform is provided in spaced relation to, and above, the feed blade, said platform has an opening in which the rack member is removably mounted, and a retaining member is movably attached to the platform to engage over said rack member and hold it in place.

4. A buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a feed blade connected to the frame for back-and-forth sliding movements longitudinally thereof, means for effecting such movements comprising a support carried by the feed blade in a position spaced above the same, a toothed rack member carried by the support with the teeth thereof in a depending position, a lever pivotally mounted on the frame having one end thereof extending below said rack member, a pinion rotatably carried by the lever having its teeth engaged with those of the rack, and means for oscillating said lever and rotating said pinion.

5. A buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a feed blade connected to the frame for back-and-forth sliding movements longitudinally thereof, means for effecting such movements comprising a lever pivotally mounted on the frame, means for oscillating said lever, a pinion rotatably mounted on said lever above the same, a support carried by the feed blade in a position above the lever, a rack member carried by the support and having a downwardly facing recess within which said pinion is received, said rack member having rack teeth adjacent said recess with which the pinion teeth are engaged, and means responsive to the oscillation of the lever for rotating said pinion.

6. A buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a feed blade connected to the frame for back-and-forth sliding movements longitudinally thereof, means for eecting such movements comprising a lever pivotally mounted on the frame, means for oscillating said lever, a pinion rotatably mounted on said lever above the same, a support carried by the feed blade in a position above the lever, a rack member carried by the support and having a downwardly facing recess within which said pinion is received, said rack member having rack teeth adjacent said recess with which the pinion teeth are engaged, means responsive to the oscillation of the lever for rotating said pinion, said means comprising a ratchet wheel to which the pinion is secured, and a pawl member carried by the frame and engaged with the teeth of the ratchet wheel.

7. A buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a feed blade connected to the frame for back-and-forth sliding movements longitudinally thereof, means for effecting such movements comprising a lever pivotally mounted on the frame, means for oscillating said lever, a pinion rotatably mounted on said lever above the same, a support carried by the feed blade in a position above the pinion, a rack member carried by the support and having a downwardly facing recess within which said pinion is received, said rack member having rack teeth adjacent said recess with which the pinion teeth are engaged, means for rotating said pinion, said last-named means comprising a second lever connected to the frame and pivotally mounted on said first lever and oscillated thereby, and said second lever having a oneway connection with said pinion to rotate the latter in a step-by-step movement.

8. A buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a feed blade connected to the frame for back-and-forth sliding movements longitudinally thereof, means for effecting such movements comprising a lever pivotally mounted on the frame, means for oscillating said lever, a pinion rotatably mounted on said lever above the same, a support carried by the feed blade in a position above the pinion, a rack member carried by the support and having a downwardly facing recess within which said pinion is received, said rack member having rack teeth adjacent said recess with which the pinion teeth are engaged, means for rotating said pinion, said lastnamed means comprising a second lever pivotally mounted on said first lever and oscillated thereby, a hub member mounted on the rst lever to which the pinion is secured, said second lever having a one-way connection with said hub member to rotate the latter in a step-bystep movement, and means for varying the magnitude of said steps.

9. A buttonhole attachment as in claim 7 wherein said pinion is secured to a hub member mounted on the rst lever and said second lever is provided with a flange disposed in spaced relation to the periphery of the hub member, and a roller is mounted between said flange and the hub member to actuate the latter when said second lever is oscillated.

10. A buttonhole attachment as in claim 7 wherein a hub member is mounted on the first lever to which the pinion is secured and a manually operable lever is pivoted on the axis of said hub member and is provided with a ange spaced from the periphery of the hub member, and a roller is disposed between the periphery of the hub member and said flange to rotate the hub member when said manually operated lever is oscillated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 246,765 Harris Sept. 6. 1881 1,850,510 Lloyd Mar. 22, 1932 2,060,376 lex Nov. 10. 1936 2,482,607 Almquist Sept. 20, 1949 2,669,202 Enos Feb. 16, 1954 2,702,515 Almquist Feb. 22, 1955 

